Immigrants in the US Workforce - Research Paper Example

Immigrants in the US Workforce: Problems and Solutions Immigrants in the US Workforce: Problems and Solutions Abstract The American workforce is hampered by discriminatory attitudes that permeate the workplace and limits the productivity and success of the immigrant worker. Legal immigrant workers are often viewed as 'undocumented' and further suffer the hostility and recriminations of American workers. This paper will examine how workplace attitudes in regards to immigrants become an important aspect of the immigrant experience, and how many of these negative social interactions are carried over to the detriment of the workplace. This paper will discuss the myriad problems that confront immigrants, and offer some recommendations that can help the workplace eliminate this discrimination and become more productive. Introduction Immigrants in the US workforce have become an issue surrounded by heated debate as the unemployment rate escalates and greater attention is drawn to the composition of the employee base. These actions have placed even greater pressure on the legal US immigrant population that already faces significant problems when working in the US. They must overcome the stigma of discrimination, language barriers, cultural differences, and compete for skills competency in an ever increasingly global world. The difficulty of excelling in this environment is kept in perspective by the struggle to just fit in. While employers in the US are simply looking for employees that can do the job, be productive, and provide the greatest return on investment, native citizens may view them as displacing US workers. Their legal status is often overlooked by co-workers seeking a scapegoat for their own failure to be promoted, or the company's decision to layoff workers. Immigrant workers may bring tension into the workforce as they may have a culturally different perspective on management, the respect for managers, and the concept of management hierarchy. In addition, government regulations may cause employers to hesitate to hire and retain immigrant workers. At every turn, workers, the employer, the community, and the government create problems for the immigrants that are employed in the US workforce. The issue of problems that face immigrants in the US workforce has gained greater relevancy as the issue of immigration has reached a level of national legitimacy. While there have been calls for greater understanding and compassion for the immigrant worker, there has also been a backlash that has directed anger toward the population. The result has been widespread discrimination against the immigrants that is usually based on fear and false assumptions. One of the first steps in overcoming prejudice is gaining a better understanding of the situation that confronts the immigrant, and a better understanding of who they are and their unique challenges. This paper will discuss the numerous problems that confront the immigrant in the US workforce and reveal the underlying reasons for the difficulties that arise from them. While this paper will cover both the illegal and the legal immigrant, the major portion will be devoted to those that have legal status. The illegal immigrant faces significant legal obstacles that prevent any real assimilation or integration into the workforce. This paper will not present any recommendations in regards to immigration policy and therefore cannot offer the illegal immigrant any amount of hope or advice with respect to their situation. However, for the legal immigrant, this paper will openly discuss the challenges that they are confronted with in an effort to offer solutions to the workers, employers, co-workers, and community that can minimize the problems and help the workers become more productive employees and better citizens of the community. History and Background Legal Status: Legal and Illegal One of the biggest problems that confront all immigrants that are working in the US is clarification and verification of their legal status. Currently, there are large numbers of employees that are working illegally because they have not obtained the proper authorization to be in this country. Even the term 'illegal' carries a more negative connotation that its alternate form of 'undocumented'. Unfortunately, all immigrants tend to be placed in this category by the general public. The illegal immigrant is challenged by the necessity of falsifying their documentation, getting a new identity, and living underground. These are criminal acts that further complicate the life of the illegal immigrant. In addition, employers add additional burdens on the illegal immigrant. According to Lee (2009), "Within industries traditionally dependent on immigrant labor, employers recruit and hire unauthorized workers, and use their de facto immunity from sanctions to negotiate low wages, disregard workplace protections, and otherwise suppress worker dissent" (p.1107). The illegal immigrant is constantly faced with the reality of being discovered, arrested, and deported. The problems that they may face in regards to workplace discrimination, sub-standard wages, poor working conditions, or communication can never be practically confronted, as they will always have a fear of drawing too much attention to themselves. The only practical solution for the illegal immigrant is to seek legal status. Us citizens see the illegal immigrants as taking jobs from Americans and pulling down the wage scale. While these may be legitimate concerns, these attitudes also target the legal immigrant for discrimination. The resentment and anger that is generated by the problem of illegal immigration is often misplaced and directed at the legal immigrant in the workplace. In addition, Hispanics are often singled out, profiled, and labeled as illegal by law enforcement and immigration authorities, as well as society. Johnson (2001) contends that, "it singles out Latinos as a group for immigration inquiries and reinforces their perceived suspect status in the United States" (p.24). This misperception generates additional stigma, bias, and discrimination from co-workers, employers, and the community. Ethnic racists, opposed to all immigrants, make wild claims that aliens are not only taking jobs from Americans, but also bringing in communicable diseases, smuggling drugs, and robbing and raping innocent US citizens" (Cooper, 2000, p.23). The backlash against the illegal workers that is misdirected towards the legal immigrant is one of the biggest problems confronting the immigrant working in the US. Specific Problems Faced By Immigrants Discrimination Hiring Some of the first problems that are encountered by the legal immigrant in the US workforce begins with the hiring practices of the employer. During the hiring process they may face discrimination in the position that they are placed, the wages they are paid, or even whether they are hired at all. Once again, much of this is projected on the legal immigrant based on the possibility of having an illegal status. Lee (2009) reports that "a 1990 GAO report found that employers had engaged in a 'widespread pattern of discrimination' where even well-intentioned employers chose not to hire U.S. citizens and otherwise authorized 'foreign-appearing, foreign-sounding' workers because it was simply easier not to hire than to run the risk of sanctions" (p.1141). It is clear that if an employer is willing to categorize all immigrant workers together, whether legal or illegal, that after hiring the discriminatory practices would continue. One of the major areas of employment for immigrants in the US has been the electronics industry in California's Silicone Valley, and the immigrant experience there is typical of other manufacturing jobs across the country. Gender also has an effect, and immigrant women suffer from a dual discrimination. The electronics assembly business can be a tedious, highly stressful job where there is considerable exposure to toxic chemicals, and wages and benefits are low. The wages and benefits are kept at a minimum due to company policies that believes that "immigrants are the only ones willing to take assembly job", though studies have shown that companies actively discourage and fail to hire white American candidates (Rana, 2000, p.292). Managers take the attitude that the lowest assembly jobs are to be filled by Asian women, and when a white woman or Asian man is hired they feel they out of place and should be in the office or engineering (Rana, 2000, p.295). This bias continues to pervade the workplace and affects wage scales, promotions, safety, and working conditions. Because the workers need the job, legal recourse is often not a realistic or practical solution. Workplace A leading indicator of the degree of discrimination that immigrants feel in the workplace is seen through the lens of wage disparity. The difference is considerable, with a recent comprehensive study reporting "non-Hispanic workers averaging $18.10 per hour and Hispanic workers averaging $12.96 per hour" (Hersch, 2008, p.361). Hersch (2008) contends that much of this discrimination is based in racism and the bias against darker skin colors, with lighter skin employees getting higher pay (p.357). Hersch (2008) further argues, "observed opposition to immigrants arises in part from ethnic discrimination as characterized by outward appearance, with immigrants who have lighter skin faring better than their counterparts who are darker, even after accounting for race and country of origin" (p.377). Additionally, immigrants are faced with employers that manipulate records to avoid paying overtime and a failure to provide the workers with complete records of their hours worked (de Castro, Fujishiro, Sweitzer, and Oliva, 2006, p.252). These are the same attitudes and strategies that have kept US minorities economically disadvantaged for decades. The backlash against immigrants may be in part political or social, but is also attributable to racist attitudes in the US. The Community The disrespect and lack of dignity that are shown immigrant workers is often transferred and reflected in the community in which they reside. Immigrant farmworkers faced tremendous discrimination in housing when they located in Woodburn Oregon in the late 1990s. The town council had a political fear of appearing to spend taxpayer money on legitimate state subsidized farm worker housing. Using the racially coded phrase 'protecting taxpayer money', they were able to portray "the poor, people of color, and immigrants as undeserving of social services paid for by taxpayers" (Nelson, 2008, p.52). This action labeled the immigrants and segregated them from the ability to obtain legitimate social services and fully integrate into the town. The immigrant experience in America is often that the whites and immigrants work in the same place, but occupy different geographical neighborhoods at night. This has resulted in ethnic enclaves such as Chinatown, Koreatown, Mexican neighborhoods, and other ethnic concentrations. While this offers the immigrant some support and cultural familiarity, it also serves as a wall that separates them from mainstream America. In fact, for the immigrant the workplace is the main, if not only, point of contact with the dominant white race and nativist population. Racist attitudes against immigrants have prevented them from fully integrating into white neighborhoods on an equal and just scale. According to Ellis, Wright, and Parks (2004), "increases in racial interaction at places in and around work better account for the rapid growth in mixed-race dating and partnering than the minuscule reductions in residential segregation that have occurred over the last two decades" (p.621). The separation that the immigrant is faced with in their living location and conditions will further stigmatize them in the workplace, and continue to label them as different and dissimilar. Barriers Language Many people view language in the workplace as a matter of convenience for communication, but it is also critical for the health and safety of the workers. A study of the construction industry has highlighted the importance of language when engaged in a dangerous occupation. While only 46 percent of the construction workers in the US are Hispanic, they suffer over 65 percent of the accidents and over 80 percent of the workplace deaths (Acosta-Leon, Grote, Salem, and Daraiseh, 2006, p.300). This is often due to the failure to understand safety instructions and warnings. According to Acosta-Leon et al. (2006), "although people received safety training, there was a poor understanding of it, most likely due to a language barrier" (p.307). The acceptance of this statistical difference may be accepted by the immigrant workforce due to cultural values. Hispanics place a high value on work, and may be more apt to take risks with safety than the white worker. In addition, employers may be more lax with safety considerations when utilizing an immigrant workforce that they view as replaceable. Additionally, Acosta-Leon et al. (2006) states that, "the agricultural Hispanic workforce culture regards work as essential to life, that pain is an inevitable part of work and, thus, injuries and illnesses will occur more often" (p.307). Employer neglect and immigrant acceptance results in an ongoing problem that the immigrant worker faces in trades that have significant health and safety considerations. Beyond health and safety, it is important for the immigrant to be able to communicate to be productive and follow instructions in the workplace. Many of the immigrants in this country are of Hispanic origin from Latin America and Mexico. These immigrants generally have poor English skills and "the ratio of high-skilled to low-skilled immigrants from Spanish-speaking origins is quite low" (Chiswick and Taengnoi, 2007, p.20). Latinos are also likely to use Spanish as their language of choice in social settings and Hispanic oriented government service agencies (Chiswick and Taengnoi, 2007, p.20). The continued use of Spanish as the language of choice creates problems in the workplace by limiting the opportunity for promotion or being able to receive additional skills or training. In addition, it may result in worker hostility that calls for an English only environment, where the use of bi-lingualism is discouraged or prohibited. These attitudes further single out the immigrant as less dedicated, less qualified, and makes them less likely to succeed in the workplace. Cultural Cultural obstacles in the workplace can manifest from areas as diverse as respecting religious holidays, interacting with management, and following workplace policy on discipline. Immigrants will bring their respect and practice of religion with them to the US and this will often be in tension with the traditional Christian format that previously exists in the US workplace. While US workers get time off for the Christian holidays such as Good Friday and Christmas, there is little accommodation for the holidays of other religions. According to Estreicher and Gray (2006), "American employers increasingly are hiring new workers whose religious practices and customs may not fit neatly within companies' existing practices, the traditional Judeo-Christian framework, or the assumptions underlying companies' existing policies on dress and work time--and who increasingly seek accommodation for their own religious practices" (¶ 7). Currently, "neither the case law nor the statute provides sufficient guidance to employers regarding the scope of accommodation obligations", and employers may continue to disregard the respect for their workers' individual religious preferences (Estreicher and Gray, 2006, ¶ 19). While this may not be contrary to the meaning of 'freedom of religion' as put forth by the framers of the US constitution, it does violate the intent of equal treatment. . Immigrants are often placed in a situation where the only recourse for fair treatment is to confront management. Many cultures view management as an elitist group that can demand preferential treatment from the lower classes. This places the immigrant in the uncomfortable position of taking an action that is against their cultural values. In addition, it may place their job at risk, and with language problems and cultural differences the problem becomes greatly exaggerated. Efforts to organize the workers and take collective action often results in the termination of the activist employees. "Social and cultural characteristics of workers influenced how work organization led to workers being fired" (de Castro, Fujishiro, Sweitzer, and Oliva, 2006, p.254). Minority and immigrant organizers were at greater risk than their white counterparts. The actions were routinely based on racial and ethnic background, language, skin color, and immigrant status (de Castro et al., 2006, p.254). Immigrants that are faced with unpaid overtime, unsafe conditions, or discrimination have little recourse in many workplace situations. Intimidation Cultural and language barriers can also combine to intimidate the immigrant, which can result in a reduction in the access to education, social services, and health care that they are legally entitled to. These barriers will eventually lead to a reduction of the immigrants' political power and the ability to effect meaningful legislation, such as workers' rights in the workplace. In 2006, California Latino voters were targeted for intimidation in an effort to keep them from going to the polls. According to Stringer (2008), "With illegal immigration being an important issue, 14,000 Latino voters received a deliberately inaccurate letter threatening them with arrests if they attempted to vote" (p.1018). When an immigrant is faced with language difficulties and cultural unawareness, it is easy to understand how they may fear the contents of such a document. However, this limits their participation and reduces the influence they have on the future of their social group. According to White (2007), "A citizen is expected to participate, as an elector and in other ways, in decisions about the future of a political community" (p.26). Immigrants face a fundamental problem if they are prohibited from involvement by efforts to spread fear and intimidation. In Virginia, immigrants have been denied access to higher education, even though state and federal laws mandate that even undocumented immigrants have equal rights and access to higher education. In 2003, the Virginia Attorney General issued a memo "urging schools to reject undocumented applicants and report them to immigration authorities" (Lawsuit says 7 Virginia colleges, 2003, p.15). These attitudes and actions have a chilling effect on the entire immigrant community, as they become more reluctant to seek higher education. If a child has a problem at their school, or if there is a problem with the health care system, the immigrant is less likely to confront the situation. They may be apprehensive to confront authority and have an unrealistic fear that they may be arrested or deported. Immigrants, wishing to remain anonymous, may be reluctant to apply for public and social services, seek health care, or enter higher education that they are rightfully entitled to participate in. Because of cultural differences, poor language skills, and campaigns of misinformation waged by extremist special interest groups, the legal immigrant may not be aware of their legal rights in the US. It should be noted that children born in the US are US citizens without regards to the status of their parents, but parents may fear the authorities if they try to obtain social services for the child. Many cultures view authority and bureaucracy from the standpoint of socio-economic class systems, and immigrants may view people such as teachers, nurses, social workers, or government workers as authority figures that have the power to significantly disrupt their life. Their reluctance to meet with these officials, and resolve their problems at an early stage, results in the problems escalating. They are distracted at work, and may need additional time off to mediate and rectify the problems that they have neglected based on an unrealistic view of authority figures, and the limitations of their power. Health Care Health care is one of most challenging aspects of American society that faces the immigrant. Health and well-being are basic and fundamental factors for all cultures in the world. Without good health, problems arise for the immigrant in the workplace due to missed work, extended leaves for illness, time off to look after a sick child, or the inability to be fully productive. However, cultures vary widely on their approach to healing, their view of disease, and their relationship to dying. Large health care institutions and hospitals may present Westernized medicine without regards or accommodation to an immigrant's cultural needs. Immigrants often do not have access to a culturally specific health care system and must rely on the American framework. According to a study of Arab immigrants by May (1992), "Most parents did not know someone in the Arab-American community who was a knowledgeable resource for child health care questions, [and] most parents knew of no Arab-American health care providers" (p.91). Cultural differences may make it difficult to determine which symptoms are important, or how to adequately describe the symptoms to a health care worker (Barakzai, Gregory, and Fraser, 2007, pp.265-266). Without a highly skilled translator, expressions of pain, aches, and discomfort may lose their meaning across language. In addition, there may be a reluctance on the part of the patient to admit to symptoms or illness. Antshel (2002) reported that, "Latinos are more likely than Anglo-Americans to think that chronic disease is determined by God and therefore must be accepted and endured as a castigo divino (punishment) for personal sin or sins of family members" (p.442). Admitting to a disease or pain may be seen as an embarrassment, and may additionally be viewed as futile. In addition to adequate communication, immigrants face additional challenges when dealing with a health care system that is rooted in the Judeo-Christian view of Westernized medicine and the Euro-centric culture. For example, gender may play a significant role in the doctor-patient relationship. Immigrant women from the Arab countries are culturally conditioned to display a high degree of modesty. These attitudes and beliefs carry over from the area of personal relationships and into the health care setting. Arab women may be reluctant to disrobe or be examined by a male doctor, and may opt to deny any symptoms or signs of illness to avert this situation. Women may feel additional pressure, as violating this aspect of their culture can bring significant and severe family sanctions against the woman. An Arab girl's lack of respect for this belief in regards to sexuality "could signify cultural loss and thereby negate her potential as capital within this family strategy" (Naber, 2006, p.88). Family pressures, crime, discrimination, and culturally based violence against women additionally contribute to a further decline in the physical and mental health of immigrant Arab women. According to Hassouneh and Kulwicki (2007), "Arab-American Muslim women are at increased risk for experiencing depressive and anxiety symptoms and multiple stressors such as acculturative stress, discrimination, and trauma" (p.261). In the workplace, these conditions create low productivity and unreliability. The reluctance to get adequate health care generates additional health problems and becomes an overwhelming problem if the immigrant cannot find culturally similar health facilities, or a translator to intervene on behalf of the patient. Assimilation and Cultural Change Recent years have seen the immigrants' view of becoming an American becomes more polarized between the concepts of maintaining an ethnic identity or assimilation. Ethnic groups and immigrants are often criticized for becoming too 'white', or alternately stigmatized for becoming ethnically isolated. Either way, the immigrant faces substantial problems as the impact of the American culture begins to shape their lives. How these attitudes and influences shape their lives is brought into the workplace, and form the basis of their co-worker relationships. Many immigrants wish to more fully assimilate into the American culture, but are faced with the reality of possibly one day returning to their native country. Immigrants may feel pressured to maintain some of their traditional values, norms, and behaviors, and the possibility of returning home limits their ability to fully integrate into American society (Babou, 2008, 15). Workers may not fully work to their capacity, as they see a promotion or job security as merely temporary. Workers that wish to maintain their ethnic identity may bring clothing, hairstyles, or other outward means of cultural identification into the workplace. This may stigmatize them as 'different' and limit their chances for promotion, or obtaining a position that requires meeting with clients or the public. Westernized concepts of social issues such as divorce, sexuality, immigration policy, human rights, or abortion can create additional tensions between an immigrant's native culture and the American culture that they wish to integrate into. In addition, there may be political tensions based on country of origin and differing historical viewpoints. If the immigrant adopts strong political viewpoints on these issues, it could place them at risk in the workplace. These are emotionally charged issues, and a thorough understanding of the traditions and norms of the workplace need to be carefully observed before entering into a conversation on these topics. The repercussions can be severe, as the American Management Association advises "organizations to provide a warning to particular employees if they receive complaints that the individual is provoking others with political debate. The next such complaint would lead to termination" (Laff, 2008, p.18). Once again, bringing ethnicity, and the factor of immigration, into the workplace can cause irrevocable tensions that can only result in a bad outcome for the immigrant. Specific Problems Experienced by This Researcher As a native of Romania, this researcher has been the subject of stigmatizing, discrimination, and bias during the nine years that have been spent in this country. When this researcher first came to America this researcher knew almost no English, and there was an extreme hardship placed on this researcher by the language barrier It was not only difficult to communication with co-workers and customers, but poor English skills would often be seen as a lack of intelligence, or a person that is not committed to the opportunities that this country has offered them. Neither of these misperceptions is true. For the first three years in this country this researcher struggled, and made a commitment to the task of learning English. During this period, this researcher worked very hard but was viewed as unqualified due to poor English skills. This researcher's supervisor refused to give the researcher a raise based on this, even though the researcher was able to complete the required work with excellent results. In fact, this researcher was doing projects that were his responsibility. These projects were of sufficient quality to be presented to the CEO of the hospital, but the supervisor put his name on the work and took all the credit. The discrimination and handicap that this researcher's position and language presented were evidenced by the fact that there was little, if any, recourse. This researcher's complaints would not be taken seriously, and this researcher felt under-confident in regards to any ability to confront upper levels of management. This lack of confidence was reinforced on a regular basis by being insulted, disrespected, and being given tedious assignments that were not this researcher's job or responsibility. Eventually, this researcher's language improved and the researcher gained enough experience to leave that position and join a better company. One of the biggest problems that has confronted this researcher as an immigrant is simply making enough time for the number of things that this researcher must do to accomplish numerous academic goals. This researcher has set some ambitious goals in an effort to catch up with this researcher's American peers. In addition, it seems that everything the immigrant does takes more time. Often, it seems as though the world views this researcher's time as less valuable than the status quo. This is due to cultural and geographic unfamiliarity, time spent interacting with government agencies, and the additional time spent speaking, reading, and writing while this researcher still struggled with the finer points of English. Like so many other immigrants, this researcher needs to compromise on the time spent working, studying, and setting aside quality time to spend with this researcher's son. Being rather new to this country, and having no family in the area, a social network for childcare is difficult to establish. Immigrants overwhelmingly feel that they must do something, above and beyond the ordinary, to elevate their status in this country. For this researcher, that has meant spending the time and energy required to get a college degree. This researcher finally obtained an AAS Degree in Business Administration from Pasco Hernando Community College, but soon realized a need for even more education. This researcher did not have the cultural capital, connections, and the inside information that the Americans had acquired by growing up here and spending their entire life participating in this society. This researcher's success would have to come from hard work, education, and merit, rather than from a friend or family connection that knew about a job and how to get an interview. This researcher is now pursuing a BA degree at Hodges University, and continues to be excited about the future. While it would be easy to blame this researcher's immigrant status for the hardships and difficulties endured, that would be only a small part of the story. This researcher's role as an immigrant has also given this researcher an increased sense of motivation and appreciation for this country and its numerous opportunities. This researcher's background from Romania adds another dimension that influences the way this researcher thinks, acts, and socializes. Overall, this researcher's immigrant experience has been a positive one, even when the discrimination and prejudice is considered. They are facts of American life that everyone must deal with, whether they are immigrants, minorities, or simply the target of ignorance. These actions have given this researcher a better understanding of this researcher's strengths and weaknesses, which will help to more clearly define a successful career path after graduation from Hodges University in 2010, as a fluent English speaker with a BA in Business Management. Recommendations and Solutions Clearly, society should make it easier for the immigrant to enter the workforce without fear of discrimination, bias, reprisals, or worker hostility. Equal opportunity laws and workers' rights have had a significant positive effect, but can only go so far. It is impossible to legislate ignorance or outlaw all bad behavior. Workforce organizing has traditionally been unproductive at creating equality and fairness, as the immigrants face recriminations by the employer that could lead to their termination. In addition, immigrants are often in occupations or firms that are smaller and out of the mainstream. Organized labor has little interest in organizing workforces "that do not generate an adequate dues base even when unionization drives win" (Gordon, 2000, p.16). This places the onus for workplace change on individuals, attitudes, and social pressures to insure that workers are treated fairly regardless of their immigrant status. Sensitivity training has gained some acceptance in the workplace as a means to alleviate some of the bias that exists among social groups. However, the traditional approach of making the worker more aware and candid has not been effective at creating any real organizational change (Mangham, 1971, p.20). Team building and networked organizational structure have been shown to increase the sensitivity to racial, ethnic, and immigrant problems among the workers when used in conjunction with an overall plan of organizational change and development (Mangham, 1971, p.28). Team members need to become familiar with each other and come to rely on each other's talents and resources. Management by objectives can further help define each individual's responsibility and role within the organization. This is a much more participatory form of workplace structure and has a "positive view of people in general, workers in particular, and advocates the belief that "people are willing to work, will apply self-control if they have committed themselves to objectives and will accept responsibility" (Kroon, 1990, p.164). The solutions to immigrant discrimination in the workplace will necessitate organizational change, and a re-education of managers to instill a sense of fairness and equality. As these changes begin to affect the workplace, it will also carry over into society and other social settings. Healthcare will become more sensitive to its clients and patients. Educational institutions will become more tolerant of students and their parents. Language will no longer be seen as an indicator of intelligence, and communication will be more open and honest. Conclusion In conclusion, work is central to almost everything else that an adult does in their life. Work predicts their schedule, their status, their self-esteem, and in many cases their health. The effects of almost everything a person does, from education to diet, will have an impact on their productivity and success in the workplace. Immigrants face a special set of direct challenges in the workplace that range from language problems to open discrimination and racism. This prevents them from getting deserved raises, earning promotions, or even being paid the overtime that they are entitled to. In addition, the problems they encounter in the public schools, healthcare system, or society will indirectly affect their ability to be timely and productive. Almost all of these problems stem from the discriminatory attitudes that immigrants are subjected to in the workplace as well as society. Immigrants, hampered by fear and low esteem, are often reluctant to confront these issues or demand more equitable treatment. While laws and workplace regulations have been responsible for stopping the widespread worker discrimination that was evident in decades past, workers' rights laws simply can't overcome the last holdouts of ignorance and bias. Corporate America needs a new management system that places team members as equals and develops inter-personal reliance. Managers need to be re-educated on the objectives of the company with social responsibility as a major goal. America has made notable progress since the 19th century of slave labor and worker exploitation. America has shown an openness to move even farther with the recent election of an African-American President, and the descendent of immigrants. 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